Daijiworld Media Network - Chandigarh

Chandigarh, Apr 30: Sprinters Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar, and Amlan Borgohain etched their names in Indian athletics history by smashing the national record in the men's 4x100m relay with a timing of 38.69 seconds at the 2nd Indian Open Relay Competition held in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Representing the Reliance Foundation team, the quartet broke the 14-year-old national record of 38.89 seconds set during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The new record was achieved at the Sector 7 Sports Complex, with the athletes all trained at the Reliance Foundation’s High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar.

In other events, the NCC 1 team clinched gold in the men's 4x400m relay with a timing of 3:04.31, narrowly edging past NCC 2 (3:04.92). Tamil Nadu claimed bronze in 3:10.67.

Among the women, NCOE Trivandrum dominated the 4x100m relay with a strong finish at 44.12 seconds, while NCC’s women’s team triumphed in the 4x400m at 3:32.64, ahead of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

In the Under-20 (U20) category, Tamil Nadu emerged victorious in both the girls’ 4x400m and boys’ 4x100m, highlighting the state’s grassroots sprinting strength.

Mixed relay events also saw tight finishes, with Tamil Nadu winning the senior 4x100m mixed relay in 43.44 seconds, followed closely by Odisha and Punjab. In the U20 category, Punjab swept both mixed relays with timings of 45.29 seconds (4x100m) and 3:32.21 (4x400m).

The meet brought together India's top sprinting talent and underlined the nation’s improving performance in relay disciplines ahead of global competitions.